Petra, Jordan - Rock On!

Oh, Jordan … what a trip of a lifetime.

This was our first “vacation” in a couple years. Travis has no business in Jordan currently and so our visit wasn’t a piggybacked work trip. If you know Travis, you know his minorly unhealthy obsession with rocks, and Petra, Jordan is basically his heaven.

An ancient city carved into the mountains, the abandoned caves are open to the public for exploration. I had heard of Petra, I had heard of the Dead Sea … but the stories and pictures failed to convey the power of this place.

We chose 6 nights in Jordan – 3 spent at the Marriott Petra and 3 nights at the Kempinski Dead Sea. These two locations gave us a great jumping point for day trips and kept our relocations to a minimum. This post will be primarily about Petra … because it deserves it.

I’d say there are different intensity levels to exploring and enjoying Petra.

• Level 1 would be taking an electric golf cart the 1.2 miles to see the most iconic building; the Treasury, taking a selfie and turning around. This could take an hour.

• Level 2 would involve walking the 1.2 miles to the Treasury. The path cuts through a canyon and is incredible in its own splendor. Then passing the Treasury and wandering on to see the church and the tomb trail. This could be a half day if you hustle.

• Level 3 would include everything in 1 and 2 and then tack on a hard and strenuous hike up to the Monastery. I believe there are 900 steps up? It’s a haul and isn’t easy, but the reward at the top is … epic. This would be an entire day and a long one. You’re talking like 30,000 steps in a day.

• Level 4 includes all the peripheral trails that lead to stunning overlooks, the Indiana Jones Trail or the High Point of Sacrifice. This would extend your visit by another full day.

We chose Petra Level 4 but spent 3 full days to complete it. This was due to visiting Petra with a 3-year-old. We ask a lot of this kid, and he is typically down, but we do have to be mindful of keeping the experience positive and trading Petra for a playground in the afternoons. So … sans 3-year-old, you could do it all faster.

Petra with Kids –

Hudson was the only child there under 16 (that wasn’t working, but more on that in a sec). This is because Petra is not handicap accessible past Level 1. We have a boss jogging stroller – The BOB - and that could only go to maybe 50% of the places we wanted to see. Which means, that if your stroller can handle even going past the Treasury, you’re asking your kid to walk or carrying them or hiring a donkey ). There were two babies in carriers, but our kid is 45lbs so I’m not carrying him anywhere. Which means, my hubby did. And honestly, this man is a beast. He probably carried Hudson on his shoulders up and down 2,000 steps and for countless miles. We could only do this trip with Hudson because Travis is ...

PROS

• Petra is one of the modern 7 wonders of the world for a reason. If you can, you should visit. It’s beyond what your imagination can comprehend.

• Talk about an explosion to your imagination. To envision this city as bustling in the 4th century BC ... To picture how the Nabataean community must have carved these splendid tombs or channeled the water. They didn’t have modern tools, genuinely how were they carving with this amount of precision. I mean, their ability to understand the flow of water is unparalleled – zero percent chance we could do that today without modern technology.

• The lack of “safety” is actually a huge appeal. Everything is accessible, nothing is roped off with no ugly guard rails or safety rails. You literally can climb the mountains as the people have done for millennia. This makes it nerve wracking with a child, but it’s pretty remarkable that the entire site hasn’t been “adjusted to meet code.”

• I cannot express to you how good the cappuccinos are in front of the monastery. I will crave those for the rest of my life.

• The Bedouin people are truly exceptional. The perfect example was the man that abandoned his camel to rush to an older woman who had fallen and scraped her knee terribly. He offered for her to come to his café and he will help to bandage her. She rudely declined and brushed him off. When he returned, he exuded sadness and muttered to me, “I didn’t want her money, I just wanted to help her. She’s hurt.” He about sums up the people we experienced. Truly proud, kind and compassionate.

CONS

• I had a really hard time with the animals. For as many sweet stray puppies, kittens and horses, there are 3x as many defeated camels, mules and donkeys. I struggled a lot with the urge to free them all – but what would that help? My only solution was to stuff as many apples as I could into my bags and pass them out. The animal cruelty here was raised by PETA in 2018 and a lot changed. But what didn’t change is the existence of the animals. They are still here, and their owners are still trying to make a living by using them, but now tourists aren’t taking donkey rides and so their owners aren’t making money, and so the donkeys are even less cared for. Except of course, the 300lb dude that had a miniature donkey carry him all the way up to the monastery because he couldn't hike it. I thought the donkey was actually going to die and I wished the same fate on this guy. By day 3 I was oversaturated.

• I also had an excruciating time with the child labor. When we first got our tickets, one of the rules stamped on the back confused me; “please don’t support child labor.” Like, excuse me, what?! But a mile in, I got it. Beautiful 5-year-olds selling post cards for $2. Sweet baby faces begging you to “just buy 1 – support local” … After 3 days, my soul was crushed by these children. I have an iconic picture that I would never share, of Hudson playing with a local little girl. They were the same age, and she didn’t resist the urge to play – as she shouldn’t. But the difference in their lives was … overpowering, staggering, soul crushing. I don’t have a solution for this, or a concrete way to help, but I will carry the picture of this little girl with me forever and ensure that Hudson understands his privilege.

• The Bedouin people lived in Petra until the 50s/60s/even today. As tourism increased, and the appeal of Petra grew, the government moved the people to Little Petra – a community on the hillside with free housing. But to this day, the local people remain living in the caves, these are their homes. And interestingly, (as was explained to me by my taxi driver who was born in the caves), far more efficient than the government provided housing. The caves are cool in the summer, so no AC and a tiny fire heats the sand which warms the entire space in the winters. Living here is preferred. And so, you must be prepared as explorers of Petra, to stumble into a cave that is still inhabited. That’s jarring – let me tell you to enter a cave taking pictures, only to realize a young man is cuddled up with his dog under a pile of blankets still sleeping. Many, rely on tourism heavily as their means of income … cue animal cruelty, cue child labor. Cue, me loading my pockets with apples and buying more broken trinkets and knickknacks then I knew what to do with. It was the only way I knew how to help … that and hope that the Bedouin people are provided with more economic means of providing an income for their families by their government.

In summary, we spent 3 full days, like 6am arrival days, exploring Petra. We left no stone unturned – literally. I would repeat the trip in a heartbeat, with the only change being the decision to hire a tour guide to take us through the most populated places.

I would also bring more apples, more coins and more compassion.